Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
The first Sikorsky HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter as it enters final assembly at Stratford, Conn., in February. Sikorsky photo
The pilots enjoy increased ballistic protection by way of thicker armor. The armor plating in the Pave Hawk only protects from standard 7.62 mm ball ammunition but the W model will add protection from 7.62 mm armor-piercing rounds.
Versus the Pave Hawk, the W model has a “more elegant” side-gun mounting design. They won’t stick out as far from the aircraft and will be able to universally accept GAU-2, GAU-18, and GAU-21 guns, Healy said.
Special mission aviators and pararescuemen will be able to see mission data in the back of the aircraft, where three full-color displays are mounted. For the first time, pararescuemen will have crash-worthy seats, which can be folded up to the ceiling of the cabin. In the Pave Hawk, PJs sit on the cabin floor and take their chances.
Sikorsky is under contract for 39 training “devices,” which will include full-motion simulators for the pilots and special mission aviators. Additionally, there are operational flight trainers and part-task trainers focused on systems such as landing gear and hoists. Sikorsky is also developing maintenance system trainers for crew chiefs to work on at the Fort Eustis, Va. schoolhouse.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
The Pentagon is significantly bolstering airpower near Venezuela, dispatching the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to Latin America, it said in an Oct. 24 statement. The announcement came just hours after U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers and other U.S. assets flew near the Venezuelan coast on Oct. 23.
With a fresh directive from the president, the department could opt to repeat its unconventional—and potentially unlawful—move to pay troops using unused non-personnel appropriations.
An Air Force OA-1K Skyraider II crashed near Oklahoma City on Oct. 23, with a civilian contractor and Active-duty Airman escaping uninjured. The OA-1K was on a training mission when the crash occurred, less than 10 miles from the base.
Shield AI has entered the increasingly crowded field of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, this week announcing its “X-BAT” vehicle that stands out from others by having both vertical takeoff and landing capability and supersonic speed.
Airmen, Guardians, and other service members that wear beards for religious reasons will be deemed nondeployable as part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sweeping crackdown on shaving waivers—a move that would essentially end their careers and one that several former Air Force officials say may go too far in trying…
The Space Force expects to award $905 million in contracts over the next five years through a new Maneuverable GEO program, which aims to form a commercial fleet of mobile communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
For more than a decade, the Pentagon have steadily invested more and more of its budget in research and development compared to procurement—resulting in a “smaller, older, and less capable force than it needs,” according to a new analysis from the Center for a New American Security think tank.
While the Sentinel ICBM program writ large is undergoing a major restructure due to cost and schedule overages, prime contractor Northrop Grumman is touting progress on milestones with the missile itself.
The Air Force has ordered officials across the service to inspect every Airman’s dorm room as part of the Pentagon’s new effort to improve barracks conditions for all service members.
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